Care in the Home

02/28/2007

Health is not simply the absence of sickness.
Hannah Green

Once again, Abt Associates, Inc. has produced a powerful report on family child care that offers current data about a vital component of the early care and education field. The report, "National Study of Child Care for Low-Income Families: Care in the Home: A Description of Family Child Care and the Families and Children Who Use It," was prepared for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in April 26, 2006, but was released at the end of January 2007.

The report is the result of a seven-year research project carried out in 25 communities among 17 states. The study was designed to “provide federal, state, and local policy makers with information on the effects of federal, state, and local policies and programs on child care at the community level, and on employment and child care decisions of low-income families.” The contents include profiles of family child care (FCC) providers, descriptions of FCC homes as child care environments, and the experiences of individual children in the homes. Parents and providers were interviewed for the study and children in care were observed by trained observers. The study is not representative of the nation’s families. License-exempt providers were included in the study.

The study authors identified 12 highlights, including the following three:

Across homes, the level of contact between providers and children was very high — providers were in visual, verbal, or physical contact with children almost all of the time. Most interactions were positive.
Subsidies made child care considerably more affordable... but did not determine their choice of child care arrangement.
Learning activities (reading or being read to, math, science, or nature activities) constituted a small fraction (less than 10%) of children’s activities in the FCC home.

The Executive Summary can be viewed here.

Contributed by Edna Ranck

Motivate Teachers Team building activities and creative staff appreciation ideas are delivered to you every month. Receive 2 FREE leadership CDs with your membership. Topics include: Dealing With Difficult People and Goal Setting.

For more information about Exchange's magazine, books, and other products pertaining to ECE, go to www.ccie.com.